A videograb taken from the YouTube channel of the Shaam News Network purports to show Syrian security forces confronting protesters in the city of Hama. Photograph: Shaam News Network/EPA

9.07am: Welcome to Middle East Live. Many people will be watching Syria today to see if the now customary Friday protests will be galvanised by the demands of world leaders for Bashar-al Assad to surrender power.

It is hard to imagine an Assad government, whatever it might now offer in the shape of reforms, gaining from the majority of the population anything more than, at best, sullen acquiescence. Reform requires a partnership of sorts between regime and opposition. With at least 2,000 dead since the protests began in March, and thousands jailed, too much blood has been shed for that to be a serious possibility ...

The hope must be that some elements in the regime will have the common sense to realise that the only way out of the impasse, and the only chance of even a qualified fresh start, is to shed the leader identified with policies which may have achieved momentary physical control but have irrevocably alienated large parts of the population.

The US also imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria's energy sector but the FT [print only] writes that "this will have almost no impact unless the European Union does the same":

The US has almost no involvement in Syria's energy sector, but Europe has an outsize influence buying an estimated 95% of the country's crude exports and acounting for its biggest foreign investors ...

The EU will consider sanctions when senior diplomats meet today, and US officials are hoping that energy measures will be high on its list of options ...

But it will be a complicated process to get all 27 EU member states to agree, and not only for commercial reasons. Some diplomats have voiced concerns that such a measure could result in the kind of collective punishment experienced in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, while countries such as Sweden generally dislike sanctions.

• The US, the US, Britain and European allies said they would draft a UN security council sanctions resolution on Syria. Britain's deputy UN ambassador, Philip Parham, told reporters are a closed-door council meeting on Syria:

The time has come for the council to take further actions to step up the pressure against those who are responsible for the violence against the citizens of Syria.

It's really pitiful to see these influential countries in the council making use of the council as an instrument to fulfil their illegitimate strategies against my own country as well as the whole area.

Libya

• At least seven loud blasts were heard in Tripoli early Friday morning as bombs fell in the vicinity of Muammar Gaddafi's main compound of Bab al-Aziziya. An Associated Press correspondent staying in a hotel in the capital said he heard the explosions and saw flames in the air as bombs struck the ground. Nato jets were heard circling the sky above. Residents in Tripoli also told AP that at least three blasts were heard on the road leading to the airport in the capital.

The rebels now control the coastal highway between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, a crucial gateway and main supply route for water, petrol, rice and tomatoes.

The rebels have severed the road south to the Gaddafi stronghold of Sabah, and have pushed further from their base in Libya's western mountains all the way to the sea and the Roman city of Sabratha, with its temples and ancient theatre.

The frontline is in the coastal city of Zawiyah, a couple of miles' drive from the oil refinery, down a road of deserted lock-ups and a shop selling fluted columns. The western end of the city is under rebel control. The north and north-east parts are in the hands of Gaddafi's forces, with snipers positioned over the main square and the eastern part of Daman Street – which was today sealed off by a sand roadblock.

9.24am: Russia opposes US and European calls for the Syrian president to step down, Interfax news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry source as saying on Friday. The source was quoted as saying:

We do not support such calls and believe that it is necessary now to give President Assad's regime time to realise all the reform processes that have been announced.

9.34am:Syrian security forces have shot dead two people and launched a campaign of arrests just hours after the United States and its European allies demanded that Assad leaves office,a activists say.

The overnight shooting and arrests in different parts of the country came as the opposition called for more demonstrations following Friday noon prayers.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and The Local Co-ordination Committees, a group that documents anti-regime protests, said one person was killed in a Damascus suburb. Another died early Friday in the central city of Homs.

A UN team has said on Thursday that Assad's crackdown "may amount to crimes against humanity".

On 27 March, after pro-democracy protests began in the country, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared to defend Assad:

"There's a different leader in Syria now. Many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer."

The tone of language toughened over the next few months but had stopped a long way short of calling for Assad to go. In May Obama said "President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way," while in July Clinton said Assad had "lost legitimacy", but it took until yesterday before Obama finally called for Assad to quit.

10.34am: For those asking about the claim by Libyan rebels (mentioned in Thursday's blog by Luke Harding) that a Nato air strike had fired on a fleeing Libya boat carrying Gaddafi troops (which, as commenters pointed out, seems in no way an attempt to protect civilians), the Telegraph has more details (thanks to @BrownMoses below the line):

Pro-Gaddafi forces had taken to the sea by boat after fighting a desperate rearguard battle for the refinery, the regime's last source of fuel for its besieged capital.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said they had commandeered a tug in an effort to regroup after a Nato strike destroyed their armed vehicles in the refinery.

"Although a challenging target, small and under way at sea, a direct hit was scored with a laser-guided Paveway bomb which sank the vessel," Major Gen Nick Pope said.

The RAF delivered the final blow just as two senior officers boarded the ship from an inflatable.

10.46am: A leading member of the Sunni Muslim ruling class in Bahrain has told the Washington Times that the king's uncle should resign in the wake of the protests against the regime that began in February. Ben Birnbaum writes:

Sheik Abdullatif al-Mahmoud told The Washington Times that Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, prime minister since 1971, should stay in office until the crisis is over and then step down.

"The crisis needs management and [Prince Khalifa] is seen as a main party in managing the crisis," said Mr Mahmoud, a former opposition figure but now a strong supporter of King Hamad's. "If the crisis is over, we might feel comfortable telling him, 'Thank you, you have done what you needed to do, and we need a fresh face.'"

Mr Mahmoud heads the National Unity Gathering, a coalition of mostly Sunni political blocs that united to counter the largely Shia anti-government protests that erupted on February 14, following the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.

"We believe that the constitution gave a lot of room for the king to choose whatever prime minister he wants," he said. "It did not say the prime minister has to be from the ruling family. It did not even designate the sect of the prime minister."

US officials believe that Bahrain's recent sectarian polarisation has bolstered the hard-line prime minister within the monarchy and among Sunnis while weakening the more reform-minded crown prince, whom the US sees as key to any long-term political settlement.

I am in the centre of Sabratha. It's completely in rebel control but there's immense damage. There was a three day battle here which ended on Tuesday when Nato fired on Gaddafi's government headquarters. I am standing in it [the crater left by the air strike] now, really a scene of absolute devastation. There are upturned military vehicles, the officers' mess has been directly hit. There's a sort of sea of pulverised concerete.

Rebels say two government fighters were killed here who they buried and after that the battle was pretty swiftly over. But what's interesting is, the rebels I have talked to, who have taken this important town - it's only about just over 60km from Tripoli on the western coast of Libya - they say that without this dramatic advantage [air strikes], they would still be fighting and I think this is what's turning this war, this ability to call in these strikes.

One other thing I was trying to investigate was whether there's been damage to the remains ....it seems the Roman amphitheatre, which is one of the most spectacular in the world, has survived the fighting.

Luke also met two fighters from Manchester, of Libyan origin, and said "there seems to be a kind of northern [England] brigade here".

11.43am:Brian Whitaker, one of the Guardian's Middle East experts, has been looking at the "Draft Constitutional Charter" issued by the Libyan NTC. He writes:

As might be expected, it contains things that would appeal to a variety of different elements. Parts of it have been copied from Gaddafi's 1969 constitution, and it is interesting to compare the two documents to see what has been included and what has been omitted. For example, the Arab and pan-Arab nationalism has gone. Libya is no longer described as an Arab state, though Arabic will remain as the official language "while preserving the linguistic and cultural rights of all components of the Libyan society". This is a major step towards de-marginalising the Amazigh (Berbers).

Article 1 says "Islam is the religion of the state". Undesirable as this may be in terms of separating religion from the state, it leaves the Gaddafi constitution unchanged - and the same applies in most other Arab countries.

The new part is that it also says Islamic jurisprudence (sharia) will be "the principal source of legislation". This form of words is also used in the Egyptian constitution and it's something that Islamists are obviously keen on.

It adds that non-Muslims will be allowed to practise their religion and, as in Egypt and several other Arab countries, it talks of different personal status laws for different religions (which has proved very problematic in practice).

Other parts of the document talk about democracy, a multi-party system, equal rights, freedom of expression, independence of the judiciary, etc. Women will have the right to participate "entirely and actively in political, economic and social spheres".

Taken as a whole, the document has quite a lot of good points. But so too did Gaddafi's 1969 constitution. The real test comes later, in the application.

11.39am: An update on the Nato air strike in Libya on Wednesday on a boat carrying Gaddafi troops off the coast of Zawiya (see 10.34am).

A Nato spokesman told AP that the boat was struck because the government troops were "threatening civilians". I've just put a call into Nato and am trying to find out more details.

The Nato official told AP that after the boat was hit, Nato aircraft detected several people swimming toward a nearby buoy. Nato raised the alarm and initiated a rescue of the individuals.

11.58am: More than 40 Syrian "revolution blocs" have forged a coalition to unite their efforts against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to a statement received Friday by AFP, the Daily Star (Lebanon) reports. It says 44 groups have signed up to join the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC):

The long-term aim of the coalition is also to build "a democratic and civil state of institutions that grants freedom, equality, dignity and respect of human rights to all citizens," said the statement.

"We announce today the establishment of (the) 'Syrian Revolution General Commission', the result of merging all the signatory Syrian Revolution blocs both inside and outside Syria and those who are invited to join as well in order to have through this commission a representation of the revolutionaries all over our beloved Syria," it said.

The coalition urged all groups involved in the pro-democracy movement to close ranks and join them "to achieve the goals of the revolution and bring out its voice to all corners of the world."

Those who signed the statement include protests committees from across Syria, including flashpoint cities and towns, as well as The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page, one of the drivers of the protests.

12.42pm: The Local Co-ordination Committees in Syria say there has been shooting in Damascus' Qadam neighborhood. It's unclear if there are casualties. Activists also say there has been shooting in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and the southern Hauran Plain, where five people were reported wounded.

As always with information coming out of the country, it is very difficult to independently verify as Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began.

• Syrian security forces have reportedly opened fire on people protesting after Friday prayers. Al-Jazeera said six people have been killed in the southern city of Daraa, according to activists. One person was reported killed in a Damascus suburb and another in the central city of Homs. Activists say there has also been shooting in Hama, the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and the southern Hauran Plain, where five people were reported wounded. The crackdown comes despite President Asssad's claim that military operations were over.

• Russia opposes US and European calls for the Syrian president to step down, Interfax news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry source as saying on Friday. The source was quoted as saying: "We do not support such calls and believe that it is necessary now to give President Assad's regime time to realise all the reform processes that have been announced."

• More than 40 Syrian "revolution blocs" have forged a coalition to unite their efforts against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to a statement received Friday by AFP. The aim of the the Syrian Revolution General Commission is said to be to build "a democratic and civil state of institutions that grants freedom, equality, dignity and respect of human rights to all citizens".

• Heavy fighting has been reported in the western Libyan town of Zlitan. AFP says that opposition fighters claim to have reached the centre of the town. Rebels are said to be preparing for a final assault to capture the whole of Zawiyah."Immense damage" has been done to the north-west city of Sabratha, capture by rebel fighters on Tuesday but the Roman amphitheatre in the Unesco world heritage site appears not to have been damaged.

12.47pm: Sky News's Alex Crawford in Libya (hat tip once again to @BrownMoses below the line) has tweeted:

Rebels preparing for final attack to take Zawiyah #Libya

Additionally, al-Jazeera is reporting fighting in the western town of Zlitan. AFP says rebels have reached the centre of Zlitan.

2.03pm: Nour Ali, writes on the Syrian protests and the response of the security services:

Yesterday's calls for Assad have emboldened protesters but not deterred the Syrian regime from cracking down, writes Nour Ali. Protests, which have broken out across in towns and cities across the country including Hama, have been met with heavy gunfire including Moadimiyeh close to Damascus, Deir Ezzor in the east and the increasingly restive commercial hub of Aleppo.

A resident close to the Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs said she heard heavy gunfire and an explosion imediately after protests broke out after Friday prayers."I am lying flat on the floor because the gunfire is so heavy and so close," she said, adding that roadblocks had been set up and armoured vehicles had moved back in.While tanks have been withdrawn to the outskirts of some cities, people in Homs and Latakia are reporting pickup trucks mounted with guns have replaced them in several neighbourhoods.

Some of the worst reports of gunfire are coming from towns in the Hauran plain close to Deraa where protests were first sparked in mid-March. At least two people have been killed in the town of Hirak. In Inkhel activists say some soldiers have been shot for refusing to fire – causing fissures in the regime is one of the aims of the rising international pressure, western officials say.

The opposition is now trying to better organise itself into a united front to offer an alternative power structure that will attract defectors – something that has been noticeably missing in Syria. But not all are behind yesterday's coordinated diplomatic effort to ramp up pressure on Assad. Russia, an ally of Damascus, condemned the move and said Assad should be allowed more time to implement reforms.

A growing focus of the international community is the alleged human rights abuses in the wake of a damning UN report published yesterday. The UN says it has been given permission to send a humanitarian mission to the country tomorrow, but observers are sceptical that they will be allowed full access.

In Homs, which has seen some of the worst violence, residents say that the report only scratches the surface. They allege that over 300 people rather than the tens reported were killed when security forces opened fire at a mass demonstration on 18 April and that they were buried in mass graves around the city.

2.24pm: Here's an update on developments in Libya, including heavy opposition casualties in fighting in Zlitan:

Zlitan

Al-Jazeera says 26 opposition fighters have been killed in heavy clashes in Zlitan, east of Tripoli and 80 injured. It says there have also been casualties among Gaddafi forces. Reuters says a large number of wounded were being brought to the rebels' field hospital.The rebels suffered a setback on Thursday when Gaddafi's forces crushed an uprising inside Zlitan.

Zawiyah

Rebel fighters have begun what they hope will be their final assault to take control of the whole of the town, according to Sky News's Alex Crawford. The brother of the government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, was killed by a Nato helicopter gunship in the central square of Zawiyah after going there with a group of others to check on friends, a Libyan official said. His brother was a 25-year-old student named Hasan Ali

Tripoli

The United Nations said it will mount an operation, probably by sea, to evacuate thousands of foreigners trapped in Tripoli by rebel advances that have put the capital under siege. A spokeswoman for the UN's International Organidation for Migration (IOM), Jemini Pandya, said an operation to evacuate thousands of Egyptians and other foreigners trapped in Tripoli by the latest fighting would begin within days. "We are looking at all options available, but it will probably have to be by sea," she told a Geneva news conference. More than 600,000 of an estimated 1.5 million to 2.5 million foreigners, most of whom are Asian and African migrant workers, have fled six months of fighting in Libya. However, many have remained in Tripoli, which until this week was far from fighting and a safe two-hour drive from the Tunisian border.

2.34pm:Paul Owen reports that the Local Co-ordination Committees, which monitor protests in Syria, have named four people it said were killed today by security forces in the Harak neighbourhood of Daraa: Mohammed Ibrahim AlSaalamat, Emad Qouman, Hussam Jad Allah Qadah and Amir Al Tourkumani.

On their Facebook page, the LCCs say that in the same area of the southern city "the army and security forces are trying to storm the Harak hospital and the demonstrators [have formed] a human shield in front of the hospital to prevent the armed forces [kidnapping] injured people and martyrs". Also in Harak, tanks have entered accompanied by heavy machine guns, although demonstrators there seem to be continuing with their protests. The LCCs also report "heavy gunfire" in the Tafas neighbourhood of Daraa, while this short video, uploaded today, shows a demonstration in the Daraa neighbourhood of Jasem.

In Damascus, in the suburb of Hasrata, a man named Bassel Rahim was killed and tens of others injured, the LCCs say, and there were clashes "between security forces and army men". If true, this would be a potential significant development, but the LCCs' English is not good enough to be sure; they may well have meant clashes with security forces and army men.This video from the Barzeh area of the capital, also uploaded today, shows a relatively small number of demonstrators marching through orchards down a country road.Another video uploaded today shows more footage from a mass demonstration in Idlib, in the north-west of the country, with crowds holding up a huge Syrian flag. This video shows another demonstration elsewhere in Idlib.

In Aleppo, according to the LCCs, a demonstration was dispersed by tear gas, with stones being thrown at protesters.A video purportedly from Homs in the centre of the country shows a relatively small demonstration. In Houla, near Homs, the bodies of four "martyrs" have been found, the LCCs report. They claim Ajad Hojak, Bassam Hallak, Ahmad Hallak, and Mohammad Halabi were murdered two days ago during a shooting in Aqrab village.

The LCCs have posted many more videos of protests purportedly from across Syria today on their Facebook page. Most journalists are banned from Syria and it is impossible to properly verify that these videos take place where the LCCs say and when.

2.37pm: The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that 10 people have been killed today, five in the southern village of Ghabagheb, three in the nearby village of Hirak and one each in Homs and the southern village of Inkhil. The LCC says that 12 people have been killed in different areas, mostly south of the country, AP reports.

3.37pm: Sorry, there have been some technical problems with the blog, which means some content has disappeared. I will try to sort it out. I think the previous post also disappeared.

Nour Ali has been looking into the Syrian Revolution General Commission, the new opposition coalition announced today (see 11.58am):

The new group is not so much a united opposition – there are no individuals or veteran dissidents on the list for example – but it is a collection of the large array of activist groups that have popped up in the last five months. Some are little more than a group behind a Facebook page such as "We are all Hamza al-Khateeb", a page which originated in the wake of the death of the 14-year-old after brutal torture at the hands of the security services.

Others are prominent activist groups such as the SNN network which publishes much of the video footage relied on by the media, the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union which has activist groups across the country, and the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook group. The Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union, a network of activist groups across the country, is a relatively new player on the scene but has pushed its profile in recent weeks.

Four of the committees from its main rival – the Local Coordination Committees who also have groups across the country but did not join the General Commission – have left the LCCs to join the coalition. The coalition has an impressive spread – from Kurdish groups, to hubs in Aleppo and the Hauran region around Deraa. The group is not going to form an alternative leadership, but may allow better more coordinated action and information dissemination as the uprising continues.

2.42pm: A building in Tripoli destroyed overnight by Nato air strikes was the home of Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's brother-in-law and head of Libyan intelligence, a neighbour said.

Libyan officials brought journalists to the scene of the bombing in a residential area, where a compound of buildings was completely destroyed, Reuters reports.

The neighbour, oil engineer Omar Masood, who said he had lived across the street for 35 years, said the compound was the home of Senussi. Senussi, the intelligence chief who is married to Gaddafi's sister, is one of three Libyan officials wanted by the international criminal court in the Hague along with Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam.

3.40pm: Sorry, there have been some technical problems with the blog, which means some content has disappeared and jumped about.

3.00pm: I've spoken to both Nato and the UK Ministry of Defence about the air strike on a boat off the coast of Zawiyah, on Wednesday (carried out by the RAF) (see 10.34am), which has generated discussion in the comments section on the blog. Libyan rebels said the boat was carrying Gaddafi troops "fleeing" after a firefight at the oil refinery. But both Nato and the MoD said that was incorrect.

A Nato spokesman said:

We believe that they were continuing [to pose a threat]. They had commandeered a tug boat and they were progressing towards another location [where] we believe they were goint to make attacks on civilians.

A MoD spokesman said:

We are very confident it was repositioning - those on board still posed a threat.

3.51pm: European Union governments agreed on Friday to expand the number of Syrian officials and institutions targeted by EU sanctions and laid out plans for a possible oil embargo, EU diplomats said (via Reuters).

The EU appeared to move with more caution than Washington, which coupled Thursday's calls for Assad to stand down with a ban on US citizens from operating in or investing in Syria and a prohibition against US imports of Syrian oil products.

At a meeting in Brussels, EU ambassadors agreed to add 15 people and five institutions to a list of entities already targeted by EU asset freezes or travel bans. The new lists will be subject to formal approval early next week. They also asked the bloc's diplomatic service, the EEAS, to prepare plans for further measures. One diplomat said:

Ambassadors invited the EEAS and the European Commission to develop options for further sanctions ... notably a potential oil embargo.

Firms like Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell and France's Total are significant investors in Syria.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said there were very strong reasons for an oil embargo:

What one always has to put in the balance is to make sure it doesn't hit ordinary people to a too large extent. In the situation in which we are now, it is important to send the strongest possible signal.

4.16pm: I'm going to wrap up the blog for the day now. Sorry about the technical problems this afternoon. All of the important content should be back in the blog now or at least linked to. Thanks for all your comments.

Here's a summary of the major developments today:

Syria

• Syrian security forces have reportedly opened fire on people protesting after Friday prayers. Activists said at least 13 people have been killed. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that five were killed in the southern village of Ghabagheb, in Daraa, five in the nearby village of Hirak and one each in Homs and the southern villages of Inkhil and Nawa. The LCC also said that 13 people were killed in different areas, mostly south of the country. Activists say there has also been shooting in Hama and the eastern city of Deir Ezzor. The crackdown comes despite President Asssad's claim that military operations were over.

• Russia said it opposes US and European calls for the Syrian president to step down. Foreign ministry spokesman ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement that Assad must be given sufficient time to fulfill promises of reform as he has already made "some significant steps" including lifting the state of emergency and issuing a decree allowing peaceful demonstrations. He called for an end to violence on both sides, saying the opposition must be encouraged to "enter a dialogue with authorities and disassociate itself from the extremists".

• More than 40 Syrian "revolution blocs" have forged a coalition to unite their efforts against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to a statement received Friday by AFP. The aim of the the Syrian Revolution General Commission is said to be to build "a democratic and civil state of institutions that grants freedom, equality, dignity and respect of human rights to all citizens".

Libya

• Heavy fighting has been reported in the western Libyan town of Zlitan, with 26 opposition fighters killed, according to al-Jazeera. It says 80 have been injured and there have also been casualties among Gaddafi forces.

• Libyan rebels who have made gains west of the capital took another town, Surman, on Friday, extending their control of the strategic coastal highway that links the capital with the outside, a Reuters journalist said. A crowd of several hundred rebels and rebel supporters turned out near the coastal highway to celebrate the victory in Surman, flying the rebels' green, black and red flag

• The United Nations said it will mount an operation, probably by sea, to evacuate thousands of foreigners trapped in Tripoli by rebel advances that have put the capital under siege. A spokeswoman for the UN's International Organidation for Migration (IOM), Jemini Pandya, said an operation to evacuate thousands of Egyptians and other foreigners trapped in Tripoli by the latest fighting would begin within days. "We are looking at all options available, but it will probably have to be by sea," she told a Geneva news conference. More than 600,000 of an estimated 1.5 million to 2.5 million foreigners, most of whom are Asian and African migrant workers, have fled but many have remained in Tripoli, which until this week was far from fighting and a safe two-hour drive from the Tunisian border.